


Salvation at the Hands of a Demon

by WonderingHero



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cruelty, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hearing Voices, Hurt/Comfort, Inner Demons, Learning to overcome past tramua, No Beta, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25101166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderingHero/pseuds/WonderingHero
Summary: Fate is all encompassing and cannot be avoided. It will drag everyone back on their proper paths no matter how long it may take.During the Great Tree Moon in the year 1180, a chance encounter between a female mercenary and the three fledgling leaders of Fodlan was supposed to take place and yet that encounter never happened. Five years later and in the middle of a brutal war, fate has conspired to fix that mistake by forcing the Mad King of Faerghus to have that encounter.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

Dimitri ran through the dark woods at night chasing down some retreating Empire soldiers. His own forces had refused to give chase because of cowardness reasons. He could not see how they failed to realize that the less soldiers for the Empire the greater it was for the Kingdom. Having less soldiers would make that Bitch more desperate and would force her to come to him.

It mattered little to him if his men refused to pursue some weaken prey. He didn't need such cowards to follow him. He was more than enough to handle such pathetic soldiers. In fact, he wanted to handle them himself so that he could take pleasure in killing such vermin without the judgmental commentary from the fools he called his allies.

A wicked grin grew upon his face as he could hear his prey's desperation. They were growing tired. They would not be able to escape him. Soon he would be able to placate the dead for a while with the blood of that vile woman's men.

A malicious laughter ripped through him and filled the little clearing that the pathetic creatures had stopped in. Some of the soldiers cowered in fear before him, while some of the more foolish men glared at him defiantly but that all changed when his gaze settled on them and their bravado vanished in seconds. His laughter did not leave him as he stepped closer to his prey, Areadbhar raised high, ready to be covered in the blood of its first victim.

His laughter only came to an end when new yells joined the mix, as more soldiers emerged from the thickets. His smirk grew at the prospect of more fools to kill, and how that clearing would be dyed red with their blood. The courage that the new soldiers brought with them was quickly crushed when Areadbhar tore through the nearest man, with the greatest of ease, blood splattering against across Dimitri and he didn't care.

Once again, his laughter filled the night's air as he brutally killed man after man, while never batting an eye. He took in a sick pleasure as he watched as horror encased his next victims before they could even have a chance to react to him. Those pathetic, little worms did not know what true horror was, but he would give them the smallest of glimpses before he sent them off to the Eternal Flames to burn.

His laughter came to a stop when a blade managed to slip through a gap in his armor and dug into his shoulder. The air stilled as he looked over his shoulder to stare at the man that dared to make him bleed. The Empire's dog was a tiny, little man that once upon a time he might have felt sorry for, but such feelings burned away when the wretched Empress revealed her betrayal to everyone and now anyone that would dare serve her will get no sympathy from him.

He watched for a moment as the man trembled under his intense gaze. Large, brown eyes pleaded with him for mercy, mercy that would be wasted on such scum. The little man tried to stumble away but Dimitri's massive hand grabbed the worm's face. The wretched fool had the audacity to try and beg and so he would be given such a fitting punishment for doing so. Slowly, Dimitri increased his grip on the man's face, his crest making the torture all too easy. And with little resistances the man's head popped, splattering blood and other fluids onto Dimitri, who smiled at the messy remains of a man before him.

A moment passed before the smile dropped from his face and he returned his attention to the rest of the soldiers. The men stumbled back, and he gripped Areaddbhar tighter. He took a step forward and their instincts compelled them to step back. It would have been an amusing sight, but he found that he no longer had any patience for them.

A battle cry rang out from one brave soul that managed to rally the remaining Empire's dogs. Unlike before they all rushed him at once. A howl ripped through him as he plunged Areadbhar through one of the men's chest and he enjoyed watching the light leave the skewered man's eyes.

A curse teared through his throat as a blade managed to slip through another gap in his armor and sliced into his side. In a moment of weakness, he winced, and the soldiers acted upon it. More and more battle cries filled the area as more and more blades were pointed at him. He will not be taken down easily, but in his pain, he had a moment of clarity and he truly came to understand the idiocy of his actions. The soldiers were no longer a couple of stragglers, but a battalion and he was far to exhausted from the earlier battle to properly handle them all. He could only growl out as more men overwhelmed him.

He refused to show those bastards anymore weakness so no sounds of pain would escape him, but he was unable to stop himself from dropping to one knee. From his position he snarled up at the men surrounding him. The men now stood strongly and confidently over him, it was now their laughter and jeers that filled the night's air.

Their laughter became more malicious as their leader stepped forward. Cheers rang out as the leader raised his sword. Dimitri growled out at the murderous glint stained that vile man's eyes.

He didn't back down, wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing him beg or see him flinched, as the sword was thrusted down at him. Fate had smiled on him that night as before the blade could pierce his skull, several screams destroyed the moment. All eyes flew in the direction that the screams came from, and at just that moment clouds covered the moon, shrouding the intruder in darkness that hid much of their form.

A moment passed for everyone before the intruder went on the offensive. The darkness helped to obscure much of their figure but from all his battle experiences Dimitri could tell that the mysterious person was small and lean and that allowed them to be quick and lethal. None of the Empire's dogs could keep up with that person as they swiftly and easily disposed of the soldiers, one by one.

Now in the thicket of everyone he could see the person more clearly in the torch light that some of the soldiers possessed. The person wore a long, dark grey overcoat that helped to obscure their body and their hair was a dark steel-blue that barely went past their shoulders. It was a person he did not know and yet from deep within his core he felt like he could trust them. Despite still being unable to get a clear view of them, they held his gaze.

The way that person killed was the opposite of the way he killed. He was cruel and messy; he wanted his victims to suffer, for daring to fight on a monster's side. While the person's strikes were quick and clean, ensuring that their opponents didn't suffer for long. If Dimitri was a demon on the battlefield than that person surely had to be an angel of mercy and that thought didn't disgust him.

The person disposed of the soldiers with an ease that he would foolishly like to believe that he could also do so but after witnessing the spectacle he knew better. As the fight dragged on, he became aware of a weakness that the person possessed and that was a lack of strength, but he expected such a thing, given their small frame. That didn't make the person any less deadly and that only intrigued him more.

That weakness came into play not long after the discovery when the person's blade got stuck in one of their victim's chest. The heart that he thought he had long since threw away, stilled when he saw one of the few remaining soldiers come at the struggling warrior. He tried to get up and run towards them, only for the injury at his side to hold him back, so all he could do was cry out towards the stranger.

Without missing a beat, the mysterious person, spun on their heels and stabbed a dagger into the neck of the misguided fool. Dimitri was stunned into silence as he watched the person rip the dagger out and finished off the last two remaining soldiers with the simple little weapon. As if sensing the end of the battle the clouds passed and the area was illuminated by the moonlight.

Bathed in the moonlight, the person stood before him and he forgot how to breathe. He was finally able to tell that the person was a woman with sharp eyes that stared down at him. Despite the fierce battle she had just fought the only signs that showed that she was in one was the small splatter of blood on her check and the few specks that stained her hands. He could not look away from her. His mind had teased the idea earlier but now that she stood before him, he couldn't help but think that maybe she was an angel of mercy.


	2. Chapter 2

Dimitri was completely helpless as he stared up at the mysterious woman before him. No thoughts came to him and it felt like an eternity had passed and yet he continued to stare, while she did nothing. Eventually, a thought was able to break through his haze when he realized she was speaking.

"I do beg your pardon," he said as the formal speech left his lips with ease. He could not remember the last time he spoke with such politeness. Was it before he became king? Regardless, it had been years, at the very least. "I am terribly sorry, but could you please repeat yourself?"

If she was annoyed for having to repeat herself, she never showed it. In fact, her face reflected absolutely nothing. "I asked if you were hurt," her voice was flat, devoid of everything. It was a tone that he knew would have offended many nobles, but he didn't care. Saying war was hard would be the greatest understatement, and to not expect people to reflect such a struggle in such a way was foolish. Even if it had offended him, he was certainly in no position to complain.

"I am…" He started as he tried to get up. His body screamed out for his foolishness and with a loud groan he dropped to the ground. "Forgive me, but I have injured my side a great deal than I realized."

Her face persisted to be vacant of any emotion as she continued to stare at him for a moment longer. Silently, she began to look in her inner pockets of her outercoat for something. After a few seconds she stopped and if she found what she was looking for, he had no idea.

Continuing to remain silent, she began to look amongst the bodies of the slain soldiers. His nose was drawn up and wrinkled as he realized that she was scavenging. A small guttural noise rumbled in his throat as he watched her but soon his face settled into a small frown when his eyes landed upon the soldier with the crushed head. He scoffed quietly at himself for his pretentious attitude.

Seemingly done with her task, she returned to him. A new sword was strapped to her hip to make up for the lost one, still stuck in one of the fallen soldiers, and she was holding up a small brown pouch. He waited for her to speak about it, but she never did.

"Before we continue," she said before stuffing the pouch into one of her inner pockets. "I need to know if I can trust you." His eyes widen. "When I saw you racing through the trees, I gave chase because I thought you would need help but then…" She didn't finish that thought because she didn't need too as they both looked at the same headless soldier.

He had nothing to say that could change her thoughts. Arguing that the Empire's dogs deserved such fitting deaths, would certainly not gain her favor. Though, if she was going to save him, why stop not? None of her actions seemed to make any real sense to him, and though, it should frustrate him, he found himself not caring.

"Why did you save me?" he decided to ask since he had nothing to lose. He could not tell if his question had any kind of impact on her as she continued to remain impassive and that was starting to get to him a little.

"I wasn't. Not after witnessing that." Her nudging her head in the direction of the mutilated soldiers was enough for him to get the point. "But I had this feeling that I couldn't let you die." He could easily imagine such a line like that being said with some kind of emotion and yet her tone remained flat as ever, and he began to wonder if she actually meant it. "My father always told me to follow such feelings, but this feeling seems pretty stupid." He gave her a small nod; such logic was sound in the middle of war.

She got low so that she could be eye level with him. Starring into her eyes, his mind went blank. Not a simple emotion was reflected in her eyes and yet they had still managed to enchant him, nonetheless. While he was finding himself losing himself to her gaze, he remained mindful enough to be vigilant when she spoke again.

"Can I trust you?" He refrained from chuckling quietly. She would ask such a question when she made herself such an easy target to him? He might not be able to get up, but she made herself low enough that now her throat was in easy access and after witness he brute strength, she should be more on guard. But as he recalled what he saw he began to think differently, she was most certainly confident enough that she would be able to handle him, if he did try something.

He continued to look into her eyes as he still had no answer to give. Saying "yes" seemed so obvious and idiotic, even if it was the truth. He did not know this woman and given everything that happened in his life, he knew that he shouldn't be so quick to trust, and yet he felt like he could trust her and in fact, he wanted to trust her. It was such an intense feeling that he didn't know that he was capable of ever feel something so strongly outside of anger again.

"Is that not something that you have to decide on your own?" It was the only thing he could think to say, despite the desire that wanted to compel him to shout yes.

She stood up and her face still didn't show a thing. They stared at each other for a while, neither one of them saying anything. She was the one to break eye contact to stare off to the right, and still not a single sound escaped her. A moment passed before she returned her gaze onto him.

"Very well, I will place my trust in you." She held out her hand towards him and he looked at it. His gaze drifted up towards her face and it was still impassive. Another second passed before he finally gave her his hand. Hers was so small and yet so warm, he didn't have time to marvel on it for long before she drew his attention back to her. "Though, do not think that I will be an easy target." Her small hand squeezed his tightly, though his gauntlet prevented her grip from having any real impact. "You will discover that I will be far more than what you bargained for." His eyes widen. Not even his enemies had been so daring enough to threaten him, right to his face. It was stupid but he found a small smile growing on his face and his blood rushing through his body.

She stared at him for a moment longer before she pulled him up, with an ease he wasn't expecting, and he nearly toppled over her. In his surprise, he temporarily forgot about the pain in his side as he tried to comprehend her strength. Eventually his gaze settled onto the soldier that had her sword sticking out of him and he realized how foolish he was; of course, she would possess great strength after competing such a feat.

His face grew red as he realized that in order to prevent himself from falling over her, both of them had wrapped an arm around each other to stabilize him. He quickly pulled back muttering an apology, but suddenly stopped when he looked at her. His body went rigid and his blush dropped as he stared into her emotionless eyes. She hadn't expressed anything as of yet so apart of him had expected that and yet for her to still be so expressionless was starting to become a bit unnerving.

She said something to him, and he missed it while lost in his thoughts. His absent mindedness didn't seem to bother her, if anything was capable of doing such a feat, as she ignored his apology to throw his arm, on his injured side, around her shoulders. Dumbfounded, he could only stare at her as she continued to gesture moving, and his lack of action still didn't seem to annoy her.

With some great patience from her, he finally got the message to move. Thanks to her small frame it was slow and uncomfortable, but he knew he had no room to complain. Though the silence was a bit too much and it didn't last as nearly as long as he had imagined before he broke it.

"What is your name?" he had just blurted it out and he wanted to smack himself for doing so. Demanding her name before he gave his own, would surely give his old etiquette teacher a heart attack. It might have been years since he thought to be well mannered but still, he would have liked to have imagined that he was still courteous. Even if it had been polite to give his name first would it have been necessary for him to do so? He was a king after all, surely, she would have already known who he was, and his introduction would have been pointless. Goddess above, his etiquette teacher would be so ashamed of him for having such thoughts. All his lessons have gone to waste.

Her gaze never broke away from looking forward and she didn't seem to acknowledge his question. In another attempt to try and break the silence, he was about to speak again when she spoke up. "Byleth," was all she said. A little "huh" escaped him and she gave him a sideways glance. "That is my name, Byleth." He waited a bit for her to give her surname but after a few seconds she didn't, and he was okay with that.

He looked at her for a bit. She didn't look like a "Byleth" but who did? It was such a unique name that it only intrigued him more.

Her gaze suddenly switched to his and he flinched. "Well?" He arched an eyebrow. "Are you not going to introduce yourself? Seems only fair, no?" His eyes widen. Did she really need for him to introduce himself? He never really had to do so before, everyone already had known who he was, and she should be no different, right? It had to be a test of trust, right? Looking into her blank eyes, told him nothing if she were serious or not.

"I am," he stared off a bit unsteady and the lack of a change in her eyes, only made the whole thing more awkward. "Dimitri-" He was cut off before he could finish and that only threw him off even more. No one had ever dared to interrupt him before, not even Felix with all his bite.

"Just like the king's?" With his mouth agape, he could only stare at her in silence. "His name is Dimitri something, right?" Without realizing it, he came to a stop and she was really looking at him then.

"Do-do you know what the King of Faerghus looks like?"

She tilted her head a little. "No, why would I?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "A mercenary has no need to pay attention to such a thing."

He continued to stare at her and would not budge. If what she spoke was true, then it would explain much of her "rudeness to a king". Once upon a time, he would have been delighted to meet such a person; a person who wouldn't treat him so differently nor hold such high expectations of him. But now what did this mean for him? He was no longer an ignorant prince; he was a king during the time of a brutal war.

"Do you have an opinion on the king then?" It was purely a selfish question that he wasn't sure what part of him was asking it or why.

She stared into his eyes and his breath got caught in his throat. "I think he's an idiot."

**Author's Note:**

> For those reading “Blue Eyes”, do not expect the chapters for this story to be anywhere near the long as those chapters. 
> 
> Some head cannon notes that will help you all understand some important things.  
> Dimitri is not as insane as he was in the beginning of the war phase in the Blue Lions route. He is much closer to the Crimson Flower route version of him as Cornelia’s rebellion never happened in this timeline. Though in battle he becomes a lot more deranged. The church is also no more as Edelgard was able to successfully destroy it.


End file.
